Many civil officials felt a deep sense of desolation. They were full of passion and loyalty, regarding the scholarly community and the literary world as their faith, and they had devoted themselves to the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. But now, they were disappointed.
At this moment, Liu Sanwu and his ilk were filled with grief and indignation. They never believed that their choice was wrong, nor did they think there was anything wrong with demanding that scholars be evaluated based on their exam papers and essays. This was their pursuit, their conscience; they had to ensure fairness and uphold the conscience of the literary world.
What made Liu Sanwu even more indignant was the attitude of the Crown Prince, which left him feeling like he had no way to express his bitterness.
He came from a prominent family; his father and brothers had all served as officials in the Yuan Dynasty. He had also once lived in seclusion in his hometown, devoting himself to writing. He was even recommended by Ru Chang, which led to his appointment as Left Assistant of the Left Spring Palace and later as a Hanlin Academician. He considered himself to be part of the imperial heir's faction.
Therefore, after the Crown Prince's death, Liu Sanwu reaffirmed his determination to establish an heir to the throne to Emperor Zhu, arguing that "the grandson is young and of good health, the legitimate heir, and it is proper for the grandson to succeed the heir upon the death of the son!"
But this nearly eighty-year-old man now knelt forlornly before the Meridian Gate. The Crown Prince was the chief examiner, and Liu Sanwu was the deputy examiner. In reality, the questions and other tasks were all done by deputy examiners like Liu Sanwu.
However, during the evaluation, the Crown Prince insisted on promoting the students from the north, which Liu Sanwu found incomprehensible.
Zhu Xiong Ying didn't have so many thoughts; he simply continued reviewing memorials, and then, at Wang Cheng En's prompting, he went to the Wenhua Hall.
Old Zhu knew something and looked up at Zhu Xiong Ying, saying, "We haven't seen Yunwen for a while, let's meet him here."
Since Old Zhu had said so, Zhu Xiong Ying naturally had no choice but to receive his 'second brother' Zhu Yunwen at the Qianqing Palace. However, to be honest, Zhu Xiong Ying, as the eldest brother, hadn't seen Zhu Yunwen for quite some time.
"Yunwen loves reading, and he's a simple-minded child," Zhu Xiong Ying said with a smile, then said to Old Zhu, "Grandfather, don't scare him later; Yunwen has become a little timid these past few years."
Old Zhu was silent for a moment, then asked, "Ying'er, tell us the truth, do you really think Yunwen is a coward?"
"He's a bit timid, I suppose," Zhu Xiong Ying said with a smile, not hiding anything from his grandfather. "Grandfather, are you referring to Yunwen and Lady Lü from a few years ago? If you ask me, it would be a lie to say that the princes and grandsons didn't have those thoughts. It's quite normal that Lady Lü and Yunwen had those thoughts and ideas before."
Wang Chengen and Shuang Quan lowered their heads, both regretting not having personally delivered the imperial decree. These were words they couldn't afford to hear. Or rather, if any rumors circulated outside, even if they weren't the ones spreading them, His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince would still cause them trouble.
Old Zhu chuckled and said, "That's true. It's normal for Lady Lü and Yunwen to have some ideas. We were always afraid that your father would depose you. After all, the Ming Dynasty can't be without an empress. There will inevitably be trouble when that happens."
Then, with a serious expression, Old Zhu said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "If Yunwen were to take this position, how many of you, and all your imperial uncles, would survive?"
Zhu Xiong Ying paused for a moment, then looked at Old Zhu and asked, "Grandfather, Yunwen is generally doing alright, he shouldn't be in such a state..."
"Don't give us any nonsense, we want to hear what you really think!" Old Zhu slammed his hand on the table and said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "Are you afraid we'll kill Yunwen?"
Zhu Xiong Ying thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth, "Yunwen, how should I put it? He seems refined and kind-hearted, but he is also ruthless. He is easily influenced and doesn't have much of his own opinion. If some people around him instigate him, if he becomes emperor, his grandson will not survive, and his uncles may also die."
Old Zhu remained noncommittal, but continued to ask, "Then tell me, who should die? And why should they die?"
"Yunwen's ascension to the throne is naturally due to his fear of an unstable position. In fact, let alone Yunwen, even the Emperor might be about to unleash a massacre at this time." Zhu Xiong Ying laughed, but told the old Zhu the truth, "With Yunwen's ascension to the throne, the imperial uncles who are leading troops in the field will probably not have a good end."
Old Zhu glared at Zhu Xiong Ying with annoyance and said, "Suppressing the princes, all of you brothers want to suppress the princes, afraid that your imperial uncle will live well! If you ask me, it's all thanks to your father, he's the most cunning of them all!"
Zhu Xiong Ying immediately laughed and said with a smile, "Grandfather's granting of fiefdoms and establishments is not only out of deep paternal love, but also to take back power from the arrogant and fierce generals. If those military powers are taken back, then naturally the power of the princes will be reduced. We can't let the imperial uncles become too powerful."
“We’ve thought about the Liu Han dynasty. How could your imperial uncles possibly have a chance to become powerful?” Old Zhu said irritably, “It’s still better than you, letting your imperial uncles establish a kingdom in some barbaric land.”
That's not necessarily true. Although Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have placed some restrictions on the princes, some of them still managed to become too powerful. Historically, the Prince of Ning and others didn't just have the Three Guards under their command; they commanded tens of thousands of elite cavalry, which was no joke.
Zhu Xiong Ying simply advised, "Grandfather, each generation has its own tasks. We can't expect you to do everything perfectly. If you're worried..."
“We were worried before, worried that you would reduce the power of the princes, worried that your uncles would have nowhere to go.” Old Zhu interrupted Zhu Xiong Ying and said with a smile, “You have had the idea of reducing the power of the princes since you were a child, and we were afraid that you would do something drastic when the time came. But now look at it, you can reduce the power of the princes if you want, and we haven’t granted any more fiefdoms over the years, nor have we made your uncles go to their fiefdoms.”
This is indeed true. When Zhu Xiong Ying was young, all of his uncles went to their fiefdoms and became legitimate princes, each wielding great power.
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